Antique German Pewter Jewish Purim Dish Dated 1815 Germany SOLD 2003 FOR ,124

Description

Heavy, thick pewter dish measuring 8.5 inches in diameter. Has a very dark patina that could be cleaned but I think it's best to leave it alone as it shows the age. Dated 1815 in Hebrew on the rim.
There recently was a sale of an estate of antiques, including many 18th century American and English pewter plates. This was from the estate of a deceased collector (from Illinois), and I recognized it from the sale of of J.Greenstein & Co. in 2003, where this was estimated at ,800 - ,500, not including 18% buyers premium. It sold for ,124 (,800 hammer + 18% buyers premium). I am including the Greenstein auction catalog with this plate.
This purim dish is extremely rare for the fact that it is decorated with a design of a Star of David. If you search through all the past auction results of pewter purim dishes, you will find only one other that appeared at auction with a Star of David design, which is shown in the sixth photo. It is from the 2013 Sotheby's sale of the Steinhardt collection. Notice the strong result of ,438 against a ,200 - ,800 estimate, no doubt because bidders knew how rare a Star of David design on a pewter purim dish is. Everything about that dish is identical to my dish; from the Hebrew saying on the rim, to the three interlocking fish in the center, to the Star of David with tulips in between. Even the hallmarks are the same, they being three of "Justice". The Sotheby's example is dated 1792, twenty three years earlier than my example.
Searching through museum inventories online, I found one other example like my dish: The Jewish Museum of New York, which is dated a year or two later than mine.